I’ve heard in the past that if a foal is born light, it turns dark and if it’s born dark it turns light.
When the end (mature) color is black, what color are they born?
[QUOTE=VirginiaBred;6264616]
I’ve heard in the past that if a foal is born light, it turns dark and if it’s born dark it turns light.
When the end (mature) color is black, what color are they born?[/QUOTE]
Often born with a silver grey, or mouse grey sheen to them but black foals can also be born as black as coal. We bought a black filly last year and she was jet black at birth. We had her tested and she is negative agouti so a true black but she does carry red.
This. I have had them born both ways. In my own experience, the one that I kept was born silvery and tested to be a true black (no agouti and no red - aaEE). :yes:
Usually a mousey, silvery greyish will turn black, but sometimes it can have a brown hue. Then I’ve seen jet black babies turn grey later if they had a grey parent, but not always. This is my true black Oldenburg gelding as a baby:
Looking more grey:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6-fEfxHdSZI/TLyWNcQflKI/AAAAAAAABu0/zsKRNQo15Po/s640/magnito8.JPG
Looking very brown:
https://picasaweb.google.com/107449717489979557373/MagnetoAkaSparky#5529459580661285378
He does bleach out to a chocolate brown in the summer like his momma in the picture, but he is a true black. There is no brown around his muzzle and flanks like a seal brown/black bay would have.
All grown up–a little bleached but mostly black:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pFAfPFnuPPU/TLZ_iI6nykI/AAAAAAAABuc/hGHQdPkE3VQ/s604/Sparky.jpg
It’s a good possibility that I will have this question, too, in a month or so. My bay mare (chestnut father & black mother) is expecting a foal by a homozygous black father. A good chance there will some interesting color genetics!
I’ve had a few black foals over the years, and they were all born a shade of silvery/mousey greyish, color. (Not grey like how horses turn, but grey the color.)
Rosie, your choices are only black, bay, or brown 
My brand new baby looks like this! I’ve never had one born the color she is (mousy silverish), Her sire is Crossgates Larasan (black) and her dam is Farnley Snood (grey). She has a brownish tint to her as well. So strange.
Mine have been like Gretchen’s…silver mouse color - eventually shedding out to black.
My now grey filly was born black with a brown tint in her body, but her legs were very dark. I assumed (hoped) she would be black, but my vet took one look and said grey. It took awhile, but she did start greying although her legs have stayed dark.
Most black foals are born the mousy color.
Okay, what color is this then?
“I’m going to be grey when I grow up”?
And she may be grey. I will say she’s not the color of any of the (many) greys that have been born here before. I will be happier to get an outside photo. Taking one inside is misleading.
We have one gelding that was born black, really black. The mare that is now black was born mousy colored.
She looks grey - and what’s not to LOVE :yes:
I have been around arabians most of my life, raised many babies. Seen all colors born and grown up to adults.
In my pro-arabian opinion, VirginiaBred, your foal is grey. Will be grey. Appears what we call a chestnut grey, and soon will be pink, and all kind of colors in between, and then - grey.
Such a cutie!
The 3 back foals I had…the one that turned gray was born coal black and the 2 that were born mousy stayed black.
[QUOTE=VirginiaBred;6265400]
Okay, what color is this then?[/QUOTE]
I’d want a better picture with truer colors - this looks pretty washed out.
If this were the real color, I’d say not-gray, but it’s hard to say whether it’s chestnut or bay. But if this is from a flash, or an over-exposure, and the color is darker/deeper than this, then could well be some color (still can’t tell chestnut or bay) going gray.
All three foals out the this mare (Friesian) have been born jet black. Like this:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2905422330102510679rHoLXJ
The foal in the pic is by Donatelli (black). Her other two foals were by Sinatra Song (black) and Cor Noir (black).
